Leonardo Da Vinci: The Renaissance Man

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Italy is home to some of the world’s most prestigious and successful men. One man in particular paved the way for other people to follow. He is none other than Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci was not only a painter, he was also a sculptor, architect, musician, inventor and scientist. There are not many that were gifted in multiple aspects like him. His actions alone coined him the name "The Renaissance Man." On April 15, 1452, Leonardo da Vinci was born in wedlock in a farmhouse on the outside the village of Anchiano. He was the son of a Florentine notary named Ser Piero and a young girl named Caterina. When da Vinci turned 5, he moved to his father's family estate, which is where his surname had derived. Leonardo lived with his uncle and grandparents. …show more content…
He did not see a divide between science and art, and viewed the two as one. Leonardo believed that studying science made him a much better artist. He began to study anatomy and dissect both human and animal bodies. He drew sex organs, the heart and vascular system, a fetus, and other bone and muscular structures. They were some of the first drawings on human record. Not only did he study anatomy, but also botany, zoology, physics, aeronautics, hydraulics, and geology. He drew his observations and organized them under 4 categories; painting, architecture, mechanics, and human anatomy. One famous painting that showed his understanding of art and science was the "Vitruvian Man". Many know this painting as the painting with a man inside both a square and a circle. In 1495, da Vinci was asked to paint "The Last Supper" on the back wall of a dining hall inside the monastery of the Santa Maria delle Grazie. It took him 3 years to complete. This painting shows the biblical moment when Jesus informs the 12 disciples that one of them would soon betray him. The painting shows the appalled facial expressions of the figures around the …show more content…
In 1502 and 1503 he worked s a military engineer. He traveled to survey military construction and to sketch city plans. During this time, he was asked to begin a mural called the "Battle of Anghiari", which was supposed to be twice as large as the previous "The Last Supper" painting. Sadly, he abandoned the project after two years, because it began to deteriorate before he could completely finish it. However, while he was working on the "Battle of Anghiari", he was also working on one of his most popular paintings, the "Mona Lisa". This painting consists of nothing more than a woman smiling. There was much confusion about this painting, simply because no one knew the identity of the subject. Today the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, secured behind bulletproof glass. The work of art is seen as a national treasure by

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